The End of an Era

Today I walked out of HP for the last time, thus ending an era of updates from the Corvallis front. Fear not, however, as I'll soon be broadcasting from another front: the home front. No doubt FEI will be a change for the better. At least I'm hoping so. Either way, the time down in Corvallis has been memorable for many reasons, most of which have already been duly recorded in digital format and archived for posterity's sake.

I've learned a lot about myself. Yes, I have a sense of humor. Yes, I'm more dependent on social interaction than I first thought. And yes, I'm missing a few bats in my belfry (see the car keys post if you doubt that last one).

Would I repeat my apartment experiment again? Most certainly. It's a rather expensive way to live by oneself, but I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom that it represented. However, better than renting would be making a large down payment on a house and working to own it outright. To me, that's by far the more inviting choice, and, as opportunity presents itself, I'll keep this option in mind.

Now... if only I can finish with my schooling. It doesn't matter how you slice it: tuition is expensive, whether you're paying for it upfront or through student loans. Hats off to all my fellow compatriots who are seeking to reduce the time and capital needed to earn their degree. There's great wisdom to be found in their endeavors.

Social != Socialist

Right now I'm buzzing on about 1400% of my daily allotment of vitamin B (thank you odwalla), so please excuse any incoherency in my writing.

Today was an exquisitely awesome day. The awesomeness is due to it being a Friday. The exquisiteness is due to a couple friends I was able to hang out with this evening.

Wait... I forgot the weather... make that an incredibly exquisite and awesome day.

The awesomeness and incredibleness need no further explanation, but let me speak to the social aspect of the day. Introverted guy that I am, it takes the persistence of a tidal current to pull me from the deep, dark crevice in which I make my abode. Thankfully, my cousin Linnae possesses persistence in rare quantities. She and her boyfriend Jeff took me for a grand tour of the OSU campus, including the library, dorms, cafeteria, and stadium. Oh, and we also toured an excellent frozen yogurt place off of Monroe avenue. Highly recommended (the yogurt place, not the campus). Just kidding.

You'll be glad to know that OSU has a building dedicated to César Chávez. He's my role model for all things socialist. [/sarcasm]

Here and Now

Today I reviewed my life plan. Wow. It made me cringe to think how ostentatious I was when I wrote it. It's a very self-centered document, focused around my desires, wishes, and goals with very little regard to God's kingdom. Personal goals are good, but they should do more than provide mere window-dressing or lip-service to the Author of the Universe.

Well... I won't say that the entire document was out of whack. Getting married by age 25 would be a good thing, though the timing is ultimately up to God. Doing some domestic traveling in my mid-30's would be excellent, though I'd be better served by traveling with a Godly ulterior motive.

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking about life.  For some reason, God's pointed me in a very tech-oriented direction for now. He doesn't seem to be leading me into the ministry, or long-term missions. My one-time Ph.D. ambitions seem to have been misplaced, so a life of academia won't be mine either.

Where does He seem to be leading? Well, He's instilled in me a love for my country, and a patriotic spirit desiring a respect for God to be expressed by our people once again. It may be that He wants me to serve in some kind of political role, to somehow apply a proper understanding of history to the problems we face as a country.

I'm not a great debater or exegetical master, but I know what I believe and am willing to state it publicly. As a youth, I lack the wisdom that comes with years, and the authority that comes of serving in a leadership role. Nevertheless, in the years and decades to follow, I want to learn to be a leader of men, to be a scholar of truth, and to be a champion of Jesus Christ.

In my life plan, I had written that "by the age of 55...I will begin to scale back my work load". This is folly. The world says that when your prime of life is over, there's nothing left but taking it easy for the remainder of life. Duties shift, certainly, but retirement is not a concept taught in Scripture. At the age of 55, Ronald Reagan stepped into the political arena by being elected governor of California. Fourteen years later, he would assume the most powerful office in the world, bringing to bear a passion and eloquence that would ensure a legacy lasting far beyond his death.

God has the ultimate perspective on life. In 30 years, He knows exactly where you should be serving, and He knows exactly what needs to happen now to get you there. Trust his will, and there's no limit to how He can use you.

It looks like I'll be doing a rewrite of my life plan.

The Nemesis of Noise

I'm a quiet guy. Very quiet. I tiptoe around in bare feet, make a game of closing doors such that the latch doesn't click back in place, and have a broom within two feet of my smoke detector at all times.

This is why my morning routine is so out of character.

Every morning, I head for the kitchen, grab fruit, yogurt, and milk from the refrigerator, and pull out the blender. Blenders are very noisy. My antithesis in a way. They seem to take a fiendish delight out of notifying all living organisms within a half-mile of their existence. If you throw in a half-pound of frozen strawberries, that radius increases to a mile... at least.

For a couple months now, I've been stumped by this problem. Living next door to the manager has given me a unique perspective on noise, and I try to avoid it as much as possible. However, hitting the "liquify" button once a day hasn't done much to help my cause. Yesterday, I hit on a solution.

1. Grab a full-size towel from the bathroom
2. Fold it in half, length-wise
3. Fold it in half, width-wise
4. Wrap it around the base and sides of your misbehaving blender
5. Turn on the machine

Eureka! It helped to drastically reduce my noise footprint. Maybe I should patent my discovery...

In other news, I had a screening interview today with FEI. They called again around 4:00pm to let me know they'd like to have an in-person interview with me on Friday. As much as I love pushing buttons on a screen all day, if this position involves the slightest amount of coding, I'm probably ready for a career change.

Home and Reality

I stayed at my parent's home over the weekend. It was a bitter-sweet experience, full of perspective.

On the one hand, I'd kind of forgotten how much stress and conflict there is in a large family such as mine. There are personality clashes, unlimited demands on limited time, and dying chickens. Familial unity often seems like a fleeting fantasy, and makes one consider a solitary existence with Kodiak bears in the Alaskan wilderness.

On the other hand, the beauty and tranquility of the country was very soothing and relaxing. Also, as much as relationships can be stressful, they can also be a source of great joy and companionship. For me, the time away from family has helped to cement the reality of this. People need to be around other people. Not strangers, but those to whom they can relate, strengthen, and draw from in time of need.

All things considered, I guess my time at home felt more "real" than my shuttered lifestyle down here in Corvallis. There aren't any relational problems (well, mostly), life is regular and predictable (a.k.a. boring), and the food is definitely sub-standard (raw, fried, and blended foods are good and well, but there are only so many combinations one can make with bananas and apples). It's a sterile existence, but a good time for pondering life and making difficult decisions.

Without a doubt, Christians are never really alone, for God is with them. If you put yourself in a position where you're forced to spend time alone with God, He will be found when you seek Him. It's to my detriment that I haven't discovered this until now.